Disposable absorbent articles such as disposable baby diapers and adult incontinent briefs, underpants, guards and the like articles are widely used in homes and various health care facilities and institutions. Indeed the use of such articles has become a common sanitary practice, and while initially such absorbent articles were used mostly for baby care, more recently their use has been expanded for adults as well. In both instances, the absorbent article must be designed to effectively prevent leakage of urine and other fecal materials, while insuring body fit and comfort.
Present commercially available absorbent articles are generally unitary in structure, pre-shaped and pre-folded, and comprise an absorptive pad having a liquid permeable top sheet facing the wearer's body, a liquid impermeable backsheet on the opposite side, and an absorbent sheet or panel disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet. The absorbent article comprises a front side portion, a crotch portion and a backside portion, and further includes elastic members along the circumference of the waist and around the leg openings. While the heretofore commercially available absorbent articles have been somewhat effective against leakage of body fluids and fecal materials, and have therefore met some degree of acceptability, they have not been entirely satisfactory for their intended applications. In other words, they have not proven to be entirely leak proof, nor have they completely prevented issuance of the body exudates outside the diaper or the underpants. These deficiencies are primarily due to inadequate and loose body fit, which result in leakage of the body fluids and solids through the legs' openings. These problems are even more pronounced in case of adults because of their diverse body shapes and varying contours. Another disadvantage of the commercially available absorbent articles such as diapers, incontinent briefs and the like, is associated with the ability of opening and removing the soiled article without soiling the wearer's legs or body.
There is a plethora of patents which disclose the different attempts made by the prior art workers over the years to eliminate, or at least minimize, the shortcomings of the present commercially available absorbent articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,454 describes an absorbent article provided with an elastically contractible gasketing cuff formed by a gasketing flap and a flap elastic member and a barrier cuff having a flap portion and a channel portion. A seal means for adjoining the proximal edge to the gasketing flap is positioned along the proximal edge so as provide a leak resistant seal along the proximal edge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,338 describes a disposable diaper provided with a first and second flap formed from or attached to the bodyside liner. The flaps may be folded inwardly and the respective ends thereof may be bonded to the bodyside liner so that edges of flaps are directed toward a centerline of the garment.
PCT WO96/17570//EP 796066 describes a disposable diaper having a waist pocket cuff which has first and second portions separable along a releasable seam. The releasable seam can be formed by overlapping portions of the first and second portions of the pocket cuff. In one embodiment the releasable seam includes a mechanical fastener for securing together the first and second portions of the pocket cuff.
EP 0 707 466 describes an absorbent sanitary article which comprises an absorbent pad between a backing sheet and a covering sheet. The covering sheet comprises a central opening which extends above the absorbent pad and sets of elastic means are fixed to the covering sheet along the longitudinal edges of the central opening. The article is characterized in that it comprises a set of two hydrophobic flaps which are symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis.
Notwithstanding attempts by the prior art workers to provide absorbent articles with improved body fit and protection against leakage of body exudates, nevertheless additional improvements are needed for providing a more suitable absorbent article.
The foregoing patents by no means constitute an exhaustive list of the patents which reflect the efforts of the prior art workers in this field, but are merely illustrative for background purposes. As it can be appreciated, however, notwithstanding attempts by others to provide satisfactory absorbent articles for infants as well as for incontinent adults, there is still a need for providing improved articles commercially, which are highly effective in preventing leakage of urine and other body exudates, and which are comfortable to wear and conformably fit the body contours so as to insure against such leakage and prevent soiling the wearer's body as well as the person who applies the garment to the wearer.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disposable absorbent article such as baby diapers, adult incontinent underpants, briefs, guards and the like articles, which overcome the deficiencies and shortcomings of the prior art absorbent articles, including the present commercially available products used for this purpose.
It is another object of this invention to provide a disposable absorbent articles which, due to its unique construction, provide improved fit to the body and prevent leakage of urine and other body exudates through the leg openings by providing the article with exudate-retaining enclosures.
It is also an object of this invention to provide such disposable absorbent articles which have tensionable elastic elements which insure body fit and conformal movements in response to the body shape and contours, and provides for examination of the condition of the article.
The foregoing and other objects and features of the present invention will be more fully comprehended and appreciated from the ensuing detailed description and the figures in the drawing which form parts of the application.